TNA UK Tour reaction: Superstars put on a great show

Following on the huge show in Glasgow which saw the shocking return of former TNA Knockouts Champion and WWE Diva's Champion Mickie James. After that, the newly dubbed 'Chosen One' and current ICW champion Drew Galloway emerged from the crowd making his debut by saving Scotland's own Grado from the Beat Down Clan.

The tour rolled into Manchester the next night, joined once again by the Impact TV cameras. Fan footage has leaked out where the aforementioned Drew Galloway did a shoot style promo on "Sports Entertainment" which received huge appreciation from a wrestling crowd.

Superstars on Show

Two big surprises rewarded those in attendance last Friday with Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards known as The Wolves, reclaiming the TNA World Tag Team championships off the Revolution. The UK's own Rockstar Spud set up a bout with former friend turned foe and TNA big hitter Ethan Carter III, the next night at Wembley in a Hair Vs Hair match, more on that later.

A special attraction on this TNA tour was pro-wrestling royalty in the shape of Matt Hardy who since returning to the company last year has gone into bat for company and put on some amazing matches and taken some pretty hard looking spots to boot. He received huge pops at all the shows, and took part in many big moments and he helped by being involved with putting over TNA's younger and the British Boot Camp talents.

The main event of the evening delivered us wrestling legend Kurt Angle winning a number one contenders contest against Bobby Roode and Eric Young for the right to face off with Bobby Lashley, with that matchup set for Wembley as well! Could Kurt climb to the top once again?

So, moving on to London and the famed SSE Wembley Arena was next to face some Impact. As the tour once again took up residency there and yet again fans weren't disappointed.

GiveMeSport spoke with Mark Moore of Total Wrestling Magazine about his thoughts and experience of seeing TNA Impact Wrestling live.

"Now forget what you’ve seen on Impact over the last month or indeed what you may have seen over the last year as TNA Impact and TNA live are very different animals. Devoid of all the post production rubbish that gets added on and with no Taz and Josh Matthews splitting the screen next to Narnia, TNA put on some of the best shows around.

Negatives

"Granted if I want to be picky I could complain that the Metropolitan line can be a bit awkward and yes nearly four hours of sitting and watching wrestling can be exhausting if of course the wrestling wasn’t amazing but on this occasion it was," Moore said.

I should also note that while security staff is just doing their jobs keeping everyone in the lobby area for so long has to be against some health and safety law? While this isn’t TNA’s fault I will also say that £5 for a pint and £2.80 for a cola did make me wonder if the cashier would like me to bend over for him as well," he added.

Great Accessibility

"Now with all the bad stuff out of the way let me get to the good stuff which first of all is that TNA make everything very accessible. Making our way up stairs there was all six British boot camp finalists signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. Indeed all six were happy to do this and have a quick chat with said fans and while at times they were being swarmed, particularly Grado, all seemed to be enjoying the experience.

Making our way towards our seats Dixie Carter was visible and again seemed happy to be taking pictures with fans though it must be noted that her line was nowhere near the size of the crowd Grado had. While the arena was nowhere near capacity there is something to be said for British fans and our capacity to make noise which on this night we didn’t disappoint. Even though the taping’s went nearly three and half hours fans were still loud for the main event and were into everything."

Excellent Show

"I must also say that every match on the night delivered what was expected and in some cases even more which will be interesting to see how it plays out on TV once TNA have added their bits to it. Unfortunately at times it seems that this is the area where TNA let themselves down in turning a really good set of tapings into something strange with all the post production and backstage added bits.

TNA must also take credit for having a proper stage and what looked to be great lighting throughout the arena, while this is only a mild criticism of recent shows in wrestling perception is reality and the bigger you look then the bigger the average fan will think you are. Plus on the night it gave certain matches that big fight feel which at times in recent history has been lacking from TNA.

I for one would happily go to another set of tapings again and can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout the event. TNA put on great matches and make many of their stars including the owner accessible to fans which is a nice touch, after all I don’t recall too many times of Vince McMahon taking pics with fans."

The Wembley show kicked off in typical TNA pay-per-view fashion with the highly regarded Wolves retaining their World Tag Title in a spot fest Ultimate X match up against The Great Sanada and Manik of the Revolution. That hard fought contest laid the path that TNA where to follow for the rest of the night.

Show Stealing Spud

Birmingham born Rockstar Spud stole the show in many fans eyes, pushing EC3 to his limit in a losing effort in their prior booked Hair Vs Hair matchup, however Spud would not end the night on that negative note. Cashing in his 'feast or fired' briefcase against Low Ki to win his first title in TNA, to massive celebrations from the crowd as he pinned Low Ki for the X Division Title.

Making his debut in front of a loud Scottish crowd was a brilliant way to introduce Drew to TNA, but having fought off the #BDC that night. He continued to be thorn in their side at Wembley until they beat him down to progress the storyline further as TNA build to Slammiversary in June as TNA take the long road to build intrigue.

Former TNA Knockouts champion and WWE Diva, Mickie James returned to the company as well in Glasgow and has involved again in the Wembley show. She has taking herself into the Magnus Vs Bram feud, as she assists her fiancee Magnus to get over as the babyface, despite him needing ride on Bram's coat tails since Slammiversary in Dallas last year.

Angle the Champ

One of those big wrestling moments that are talked about for year's to come, also occurred as Impact fans witnessed Kurt Angle defeated Bobby Lashley to win the TNA World Title. The best match from the show as their was plenty of big moves, mat wrestling and near finishes. The end arrived as Lashley clamped on a cross arm breaker, which was countered into a ankle lock, which eventually led to Lashley tapping out as Kurt Angle became the new TNA World Champion!

TNA their talent and president Dixie Carter will be riding high following a very successful UK tour and now the question will be if they can use this momentum during for the next few months.

Did you go to any of the TNA UK tour shows? Let us at GiveMeSport hear your views in the comments section below.

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